Rather than a mass of ravaged bone and tendon, he broke a single metacarpal on his left hand – the fourth one, to be exact – when he knocked out Sean Pierson this past Saturday at UFC 129. He'll be able to hit stuff again in six to eight weeks following corrective surgery he underwent Tuesday.

That means no zombie hand, as recently seen with UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz's left paw following months of abuse.

As for who Ellenberger (25-5 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is eyeing following his fourth-consecutive win in the UFC, he told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that he'd like a top-10 opponent and feels he's earned the opportunity.

This is what I like. I had no clue Ellenberger was hurt following his win. Yet here we are, about 5 days out from the event, he's already had his surgery!! Look at Velasquez, Jones, Fitch, they find out they have these injuries, and it's weeks/months before they get in there to handle it.

Ellenberger isn't even a champ, but I am seeing the drive of someone who wants to be one. Kudos to him for this, and his amazing performance at UFC 129.

top 15- first, than top 10Shields is a good stylistic matchup for Ellenberger, because he could hopefully, stuff the shot, and get a ko, but its a big step up in competition. Shields Fitch and Kos each have to face each other, to be gatekeeper

any combo of Ellenberger and winners of Alves/story, Hughes/Sanchez or Nate/Rumble sound better

Last edited 5/6/11 2:05PM server time by icantthinkofanythingEdit note/reason: n/a4 total post edits